The NHL trade deadline on Feb. 26 could be the perfect opportunity for teams to get an edge in the ultra-competitive playoff races of the Eastern Conference. Based on their previous track records, the East could be quite unpredictable, with prominent GMs like Tampa Bay's Steve Yzerman and Columbus' Jarmo Kekalainen wheeling and dealing in some years and remaining silent in others.

Since 2005, there has been an average of 40.6 trades in the month leading up to the deadline, 21.3 of which occur on the final day and 7.3 in the two days previous, based on the raw data made available at Pro Sports Transactions.

Looking ahead to this season, we have ranked the GMs in the Eastern Conference based on which ones are most likely to make some trades based on past behavior, and we identified whether they are likely to be buyers, sellers or still on the bubble. The Western Conference GMs are ranked here.